Project season

Sewers, bridges, sidewalks, roads.

All are part of a string of local infrastructure work that has already started and will continue with additional projects in the coming weeks and months.

Work is already underway to add a sidewalk along Votaw Street on the west side of Portland. Bridge projects on Indiana 1 and Indiana 26 will follow in the next two weeks. And the Meridian Street storm sewer project is expected to begin in April as well.

All of that work is just the beginning for a year that will also include Community Crossings paving projects in Portland, Dunkirk and Redkey as well as flood mitigation and sidewalk projects in Dunkirk.



Votaw sidewalk

The Votaw Street sidewalk work, which began recently, is the most long-awaited of the Portland projects set for this year. It was first discussed in 2016, with Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) approving funding in February 2018.

It calls for a new sidewalk that will run along the south side of Votaw Street (Indiana 67) from Commerce Street to just west of Middle Street at Haynes Park. It will then cross over in front of IU Health Jay and continue on the north side of Votaw Street to the Walmart property.

The project came in at a cost of $511,882 with Brooks Construction of Fort Wayne as the low bidder. It is being 80% funded by INDOT, with the city covering the remaining 20% ($102,376.40).

Work to add a sidewalk along Blaine Pike and pave the street is scheduled for 2024.



Mud Creek bridge

The next project set to begin is the deck rehabilitation and paving for the Indiana 1 bridge over Mud Creek just north of county road 200 North.

INDOT indicated recently that Indiana 1 in that area will close on or after April 10 for the project. Milestone Contractors, based in Indianapolis with facilities across the state including an asphalt plant in rural Portland, will construct a new latex modified concrete overlay for the structure. There will also be new guardrail end treatments, and riprap will be added to help control erosion under the bridge.

Work on the $1.05 million Mud Creek bridge project, which is being paid for by INDOT, is expected to be complete in early September.

The detour for truck traffic will utilize Indiana 26, U.S. 27 and Indiana 18.



Big blue bridge

Beginning on or after April 17, the Indiana 26 bridge over the Salamonie River on the east side of Portland will close to be replaced.

The INDOT project will involve Milestone removing the existing steel truss bridge. It will be replaced by a new structure built with pre-stressed concrete beams.

Crews will also install new concrete approaches to the bridge, guardrail end treatments, asphalt paving on each end of the bridge and other features.

Beginning in the fall, there was a local push to save the bridge from being removed. INDOT responded that the contract had already been awarded and that there had been no comment in opposition to the project either at public hearings or in writing. The state agency expressed a willingness to dismantle the bridge and have it moved to be stored if a local government unit would commit to covering the cost, estimated at almost $500,000. Both the county and the city declined to do so, with local officials saying there are other financial obligations to fulfill.

The project is expected to take seven months, with a completion date of mid-November.

The detour for truck traffic will utilize U.S. 27, Indiana 67 and Ohio 49.



Downtown sewer

Portland Mayor John Boggs said Thursday that a final pre-construction meeting on the $2.42 million Meridian Street storm sewer project is scheduled for next week. He expects construction to begin sometime in April.

The project calls for installing about 2,000 feet of new storm sewer from the north end of Portland’s downtown area to the Salamonie River. It will drain Meridian Street catch basin systems that cover the area between Main and North streets and take them off of the Millers Branch line — it experienced issues with being overloaded and having water back up onto the streets over the last decade-plus — that runs about a half-block to the east.

Watson Excavating of Redkey will be handling the $2.42 million sewer line installation beginning at the Salamonie River and working north block by block. Meridian Street (U.S. 27) will be closed while the firm works between the river and Water Street. For the remainder of the project, two-way traffic will be maintained.

Portland is using all of its $1.355 million in federal coronavirus relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for the project. It also received a $780,450 State Transportation and Stormwater Grant from the State Water Infrastructure Fund and $350,000 from the city’s redevelopment commission.

The detour for truck traffic will utilize Indiana 67, Indiana 1 and Indiana 28.

An INDOT project to pave U.S. 27 in Portland is scheduled for 2024.



Community Crossings

Later this year, Portland, Dunkirk and Redkey will all be involved in paving projects partially funded by INDOT Community Crossings grants that were awarded in December.

Portland was approved for $549,558 in grant funding for work that includes paving all of Arch and Pierce streets. Also to be paved are Walnut Street east of Meridian Street, Noble Street between Main and High streets, and Union Street between Meridian and Bridge streets.

INDOT awarded nearly $190,000 to Dunkirk for paving all of Mount Auburn Street, Lincoln Avenue on the west side of the city and Angle Street on the north side of the city. (The city had initially hoped to apply for paving Quincy Place, but the development’s streets were not included in the city’s asset management plan. That issue is being rectified with plans for the city’s next Community Crossings application to involve those streets.)

Redkey was awarded $196,100.25 in grant funding to pave Boyce Street between Sycamore and Meridian streets, Bell Avenue between Meridian and Washington streets, Sycamore Street between Indiana 67 and Main Street, and all of Morgan Drive through Redkey Morgan Park.

Community Crossings projects require a 25% local funding match.



Dunkirk work

In addition to the street paving in Dunkirk, the city will also complete flood mitigation and sidewalk projects this year.

VFT Excavating of Celina, Ohio, will handle the $835,647 flood mitigation project that will include creating detention basins east of Broad Street near Moore Avenue and west of 3rd Street near the southern city limits that will be used to detain water during heavy rain events. Also included are some upgrades to current storm sewer infrastructure.

Dunkirk received a $600,000 Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant for the work. The remainder was to be paid from the city’s ARPA money and its stormwater fund.

Also to be completed this year is a sidewalk that will run along Highland Avenue from West Jay Elementary School to Dunkirk City Park, where it will connect with Speedcat Alley. Yardberry Landscaping Excavating of Anderson is handling the $204,364 project, which is 80% funded by federal dollars passed to the city through INDOT. The city is responsible for the other 20% of the cost.